Satellite News

Arianespace is in talks to order an additional 10-15 Soyuz rockets, chief executive Jean-Yves Le Gall told Financial Times Deutschland in an interview.

In December, NASA will begin testing core components of the J2-X rocket engine. Data from the tests will help NASA build the next generation engine that will power the new Ares launch vehicles, the agency said.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has completed the Systems Requirements Review (SRR) for what will be the third Falcon 9 / Dragon demonstration under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme.

Rocket: Soyuz-FG/Fregat; Payload: Radarsat 2; Date: 14 December 2007, 1314 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch service provider Starsem and its Russian partners confirmed that the Fregat upper stage accurately injected the satellite into the targeted low Earth orbit at 798 km altitude.

NASA’s Space Shuttle Program managers have targeted 10 January for the launch of shuttle Atlantis’ STS-122 mission to the International Space Station.

Spanish operator Hispasat has chosen Arianespace to launch its new communications satellite, Amazonas-2. This launch contract is the 13th signed by Arianespace in 2007.

Technicians and engineers in NASA’s space shuttle programme plan to test the engine cut-off (ECO) sensor system onboard space shuttle Atlantis by pumping super-cold liquid hydrogen into the external fuel tank.

NASA has selected Boeing as the prime contractor to produce, deliver and install avionics systems for the Ares I rocket that will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle into orbit.